Nose-to-Tail Eating

Nose-to-tail eating means consuming the whole animal, not just the choice cuts. This includes fats, muscle meats, organs, & bones from animals. In typical American culture, we eat the choice cuts of muscle meat, & that’s it. Traditionally & in other countries, they eat much more than that (nose to tail) & they’re MUCH healthier because of it. You need certain things in the bones & organs to break down & digest the muscle meats. If you’re just consuming the muscle meats, your body is missing out!

Eating nose-to-tail provides more complete nutrition than muscle meat alone. Cartilage, skin, & meat create a synergy when consumed together. For example, methionine, abundant in lean meats, requires B vitamins, choline, & glycine from organ meats, connective tissues, & bone broth in order to be digested properly. When you eat a balanced combination of these foods in your diet you will be giving your body the best source of tools for health. So how do you do this? Making & consuming the bone broth provides collagen, gelatin, glycine, & minerals from the bones & cartilage of the animal. Rendering or simply cooking with animal fat helps the body to absorb fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.

Here are some examples of nose-to-tail eating items you can include in your diet:
-organs (liver, kidneys, tongue, heart, etc)
-bones
-muscle meats
-cartilage
-tendons
-animal fats (lard, tallow, etc)
-gizzards
-chicken/fish skin
-small bones from canned fish

Ways to eat nose to tail:
-Make broth with skin & bones
-Cook rice in bone broth.
-Take a grass-fed organ supplement
-Make soups with bone broth
-Cook your food in/with beef or pork fats
-Smoked & marinated beef heart or tongue are great
-Eat steaks, burgers, or roasts like normal
-Look for ways & recipes to incorporate organ meats
-Pay attention to the balance of what you eat